Feared Crime Boss Tayfi Butt Killed in CCD Encounter

PUNJAB — In a major breakthrough that has sent shockwaves across Punjab’s criminal underworld, the feared name of Taifi Butt, the central accused in the high‑profile murder of Amir Balaj, has been extinguished in an alleged encounter with the Counter Crime Department (CCD).

According to a CCD spokesperson, Taifi Butt was a proclaimed away suspect in Lahore’s Chohang police station case No. 1163/24. On October 10, 2025, he landed at Karachi International Airport, where police took him into custody—marking the first time he was formally arrested despite prior criminal cases in which he had evaded jail. The arrest reportedly followed a dramatic joint operation in Dubai involving DSP Khalid Waryan and Dubai police, during which Tayfi was apprehended from a flat. He was extradited to Pakistan through Interpol.

Before his transfer, Tayfi was produced in a Dubai court. When asked about returning to Pakistan, he reportedly agreed to face pending charges. Later that day, CCD’s team took him into custody at Karachi airport around 3:15 pm and began transporting him to Lahore.

On October 11, near Sanjar Pur in Rahim Yar Khan district, armed assailants ambushed the CCD convoy. In the ensuing exchange of fire, one CCD officer was critically wounded. A severely injured suspect was also discovered and later succumbed to his injuries. That person was identified as Taifi Butt.

Read more: Ameer Balaj murder case: Teefi Butt was slain in a purported CCD encounter.

The slain suspect was accused of assassinating renowned businessman Amir Balaj Tipu on February 18, 2024, at a wedding ceremony. Tayfi was reportedly the younger brother of Khawaja Aqeel, alias “Goggi Butt,” and claimed the identity of a prominent Lahore merchant, despite being implicated in numerous criminal cases across the province. Police records state that during the 2000s he consolidated his influence through land grabbing, drug trafficking, and political patronage. Of 16 murder charges against him, he had been acquitted in 15 before the Balaj murder case remained unresolved.

Once considered a symbol of intimidation across Lahore, Gujranwala, and southern Punjab, Tayfi Butt’s reign came to an abrupt end. His dramatic return from Dubai and subsequent showdown in Rahim Yar Khan mark the final chapter in a saga that has gripped the province’s underworld. The message is now clear: not even the most elusive criminals are beyond the reach of law enforcement.